Egyptian Museum

Vandals ripped the heads off two mummies and tossed relics onto the ground in Cairo's Egyptian Museum, the country's antiquities chief said Sunday.

But the group of about nine people did not manage to steal anything from the museum's collection, according to Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The would-be thieves, who broke into the museum Friday around 6 p.m., were arrested and jailed, Hawass said.

The museum has stepped up security and is now guarded by Egypt's army, he said.

The antiquities chief said 10 small artifacts were also damaged, but can be restored.

The Egyptian Museum is located in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has been a focal point for anti-government protests.